Point of View

The Prophet narrates the leave-taking of Almustafa after twelve years living in the port city of Ophalese. The narrator briefly sets up the arrival of the ship that will bear Almustafa home and his bittersweet departure. In between, the narrator quotes Almustafa's responses to a series of twenty-six questions about life and death posed by the local citizenry in an attempt to gain from him all the wisdom they can for posterity. The narrator knows no more than he sees and hears and presents it as an objective chronicle of a painful day of parting.

Setting

The Prophet is set in the temple and on the docks of the port city of Orphalese as the whole town gathers to bid farewell to Almustafa, whose ship has finally arrived to bear him home after a twelve-year sojourn among them. Orphalese appears to be a small but prosperous...